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The Demon-haunted World [Paperback]

Carl Sagan (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 436 pages
  • Publisher: Headline Book Publishing; New edition edition (9 Jan 1997)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0747251568
  • ISBN-13: 978-0747251569
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.6 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank:: 313,555 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Carl Sagan
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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvellous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing and channelling, refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious and other issues. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Carl Sagan demonstrates how scientific thinking is necessary to safeguard our democratic institutions and our technical civilization. The book debunks the ideas of alien abduction, mediums and faith healers,and refutes the arguement that science destroys spirituality.

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Customer Reviews

28 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Why science is essential, 2 Jun 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Demon-haunted World (Paperback)
Carl Sagan's book makes clear that human ignorance can lead to some pretty weird, and potentially dangerous, belief systems, such as the belief in alien abductions, or the belief in witches. What is actually frightening is that people hold on to some of these beliefs, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary. The book contains some sobering examples of human ignorance, plus some of its causes. The book also contains a sample of some remarkable letters Sagan has received in the past few years, and a D.I.Y. baloney detection kit.

I found the book a highly accessible and passionate defence of scientific thinking. Sagan's take home message is that science does not necessarily rid the world of its beauty. On the contrary, a scientific perspective can reveal some truly amazing things that we can not perceive with our senses, such as the structure of the atom. I can recommend the book to everyone; I actually read it twice.

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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Message of Rational Hope and Despair at Mysticism, 2 Aug 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (Paperback)
This book, more than any other on this theme, subjects many of the popular delusions and superstitions that hold back and threaten the very existence of human society, against the "gold standard" of rational, scientific thought and method.

According to Sagan, our heads are full of confusion and misinformation and there are forces that wish to keep it that way. Unfortunately, the status quo is dangerous.

To wake from a slumber of indoctrination, media propaganda and self-delusion, read this book, in one sitting, as the perfect antidote.

I enjoyed this book so much that I have read and re-read it many times over. I've given copies to my dearest friends. This is an intellectual tour-de-force of a book. With every reading, I muse on how preciuous and rare clear and incisive thinkers with a voice that can reach everyone are. Carl Sagan is sorely missed.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars At night a candle's brighter than the sun..., 15 Jun 2007
By C. A. Gallagher "I am not young enough to kno... (Bristol) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (Paperback)
The blurb on the back cover says; "...Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks...witchcraft, faith healing and UFOs" - this he does but it is not really the main point of the book.

Sagan never sets out to trash some compendium of "new age" beliefs or all the paranormal and paraphyschological bunk that is currently doing the rounds. Instead, he uses examples such as UFOs, alien abductions and faith healing to instruct the reader in how such myths and pseudoscience can become so believable to so many. Helpfully he also equips the reader with the mental tools necessary to examine such claims for themselves in a sceptical and rational manner, his so called "baloney detection kit". This kit includes various tools for sceptical and scientific reasoning as well as how to recognise common fallacies of logic and rhetoric.

If you read this book expecting to be spoon fed arguments against various pseudoscientific, quasi-religious (or just plain-religious) and other paranormal beliefs then you are going to be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you want to be able to critically analyse theories and ideas (scientific or otherwise), if you want to be able to think for yourself and if you want to be able to recognise when you are being fed fallacious and fraudulent arguments then you can't go far wrong with this book.

Please read this book if you get the chance, it is marvellous piece of work, erudite and compassionate without ever being patronising and should be compulsory reading in every school, for pupils, teachers and parents.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The mind growing up
I am coming late to the writings of Carl Sagan and I have literally found a candle in the dark. I work in organisational change and teach critical thinking, this book is now... Read more
Published 25 days ago by Stephen Parry

4.0 out of 5 stars Passionate and accessible
Passionate and accessible, this skeptical foundation book is packed full of examples of the merits of science and the weaknesses of human credulity and gullibility with respect to... Read more
Published 9 months ago by G. C. Brown

5.0 out of 5 stars The Demon -Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
An excellent book by a much missed voice of reason. My only criticism is that Mr Sagan is much too gentle in his criticism of religion. Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. Rutley

1.0 out of 5 stars The Gospel According to St Carl.
Carl Sagan, the great American space scientist and extraterrestrial investigator. An honest, down-to-earth chap who believed in the classic guiding principles of science -... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. R. P. J. Martin

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharpen your critical reasoning skills
It's hard enough to understand how Sagan could know as much about astronomy as he did, let alone the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. Read more
Published on 11 May 2008 by calmly

5.0 out of 5 stars It changed how I think!
This book was given to me when I was 15 and it literally changed how I think!

The book covers things like pseudoscience and how we should all consider things rather... Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2008 by S. Galer

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb book for the questioning mind
Do you like to question things? Well you should like this book.

There are two keys aspects to this book:
1. Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2008 by Alex Ireland

4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading...
As a widely acclaimed scientist, Carl Sagan has written an important book at the dawn of a new millennium, advocating science and debunking credulous claims of the supernatural... Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2008 by J. Dicker

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as promised
If you are expecting this book to "examine and authoritatively debunk" many paranormal systems you will be disappointed. Read more
Published on 31 May 2007 by A reader

5.0 out of 5 stars More than one candle power...
I was first introduced to Carl Sagan, along with most of the public, through the series `Cosmos'. Perhaps I can be forgiven for not having heard of him prior to that, given I was... Read more
Published on 28 April 2006 by Kurt Messick

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